In order for a
child to read
fluently he or she should be able to read faster and smoother than when
they
first started to read. Reading
fluency is the ability to recognize words accurately, rapidly, and
automatically. When a child is able to decode words automatically and
effortlessly reading becomes a much more enjoyable experience for
them.
The way to accomplish this is for the child to read and reread
decodable words
in a connected text. The more children work with a particular
piece of
text, the more fluent the text becomes to them. This lesson will
help
children learn how to read faster and more smoothly.

Materials:

Marker board with
sentence, “My
sister has a lot of freckles and a big toothy smile”.

A piece of
cardboard with a track
drawn on it for each student

Small cutout of a
racecar for each
child

One stopwatch for
every two
children

Alexander and
the Terrible,
Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith
Viorst

Different books
of different
reading levels

Procedure:

1. Introduce the
lesson to
students by telling them how important it is for readers to read both
quickly
and smoothly. “Not only does it sound better when we read this
way, but
it also helps us to make more sense of what we are reading. This
means
that the stories are more interesting and fun to read. Let me
show
you.”

2. “I am going to
read a sentence
one time through just like a beginning reader would and then I am going
to read
it again like a really good reader would read it.” Write the
sentence on
the board. “My sister has a lot of freckles and a big toothy
smile.” Read
the sentence slowly to the students. Sound out some words slowly
and
model the silent cover-up method that they already practice on some
words. “That didn't sound quite right did it? Now let me
read it
again. Notice my speed this time.” Read the sentence a second
time more
smoothly. “My sister has a lot of freckles and a big toothy
smile.” “
That sounds much better doesn't it? What are some things that I
did
differently in the second sentence than in the first sentence?”

3. Write another
sentence on the board. “Tonight I am
going to help my mom make chicken pot pie for dinner.” Divide students
into
pairs and have them practice reading the sentence to one another until
they can
read it smoothly. “I want you to read the sentence through for
the first
time out loud to each other. Listen to the way that it sounds the
first
time that you read it. Then I want you to read the sentence silently to
yourself at least five times through. Reading the sentence
repeatedly will help you with your speed. Then I want you to read
the
sentence again out loud to your partner. Notice how different it
sounds
this time. What makes it sound better?” “Did it sound better
when
you read it fast or slow?” “Great job!!!” Explain, “The reason we
practice our
reading is to become good at it!”

4. Read Alexander
and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good,
Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst to the students." This is the story
of
Alexander. Poor Alexander is having a horrible day. First
he goes
to sleep with gum in his mouth and wakes up with it in his hair, as
Alexander's
day progresses he gets smushed in the middle seat of the car, receives
a
dessertless lunch sack, discovers a cavity at the dentist's
office,
witnesses kissing on television, and is forced to sleep in
railroad-train
pajamas. We'll have to read to find out if Alexander's day gets any
better!
Model timed reading.

5. “Now it is
your time to try reading your own book!
I am going to give each group a book to read. While one of you
reads the
book the other one is going to be the timer. You will be timed
for one
minute. Read as many words as you can. If you come to a
word that
you don’t know, use the cover up method to try to figure it out.
If you
still can’t figure it out look at the rest of the sentence. If
that
doesn't work, ask your partner for help. I will also be walking
around to
help you. We are going to do this several times so that you can
become a
faster and faster reader!”

6. “After one
minute is up you will count how many words
you read and place your racecar on that number on the track. Then
you
will switch and your partner will do the same thing. Before you
start all
over, make a star with your pencil on your track on the first number of
words
that you read so that we can see how much faster you are getting.
I bet
after a couple of times reading the book, your runner will get farther
and
farther on the track. Let's see. On your mark, get set, read!”

Assessment:I will assess the students by looking at
their progress chart. They will mark on the track where they
began and
where they ended and turn it in for me to evaluate. This allows me to
assess
the students individually. I will also assess informally by listening
to the
students as I walk around the class.